


Take Me Back to the Night We Met

by MentallyPsycho



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 13:51:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13836102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MentallyPsycho/pseuds/MentallyPsycho
Summary: After an attempt on his life that left the Director of his Security dead, General Hux wants nothing more than to get his life back to normal. Unfortunately, that means hiring a new Director, something he isn't eager about. General Hux is a man of routine, after all, and this is anything but.But sometimes change isn't so bad, especially when he's being given a second chance. A chance to make things right, and perhaps finally find happiness.





	Take Me Back to the Night We Met

His hands wouldn't stop shaking.  
  
It'd been a week now, a whole seven cycles, since the incident. It'd been seven-bloody-cycles since the assassination attempt, and Hux's bloody hands wouldn't stop shaking.  
Maybe if he ignored them long enough, it wouldn't matter. They'd stop on their own. Yes, that would work. All he had to do was ignore them.  
  
And that's when Hux spilled his tea, the dark liquid sloshing out of the cup and onto his jacket. Hux barely managed to get the drink back on the table, hands shaking as they set the cup down. Kriffing hands, what good were they when they couldn't even hold a cup of tea?  
  
While he dabbed (somewhat violently) at his stained jacket, Hux's comm chimed, drawing his attention. He answered, sure to keep the video feed off, lest he be caught looking like a fool as he cleaned himself up. That was the last thing he needed.  
  
"Hux here."  
  
"General? Is everything alright? You sound....angry."  
  
Hux scoffed. He supposed he was rather ineffective at hiding his moodiness, especially when he was particularly angry. It was a trait he found especially loathesome, as it reminded him far too much of Ren. Ren, who treated every inconvenience as a disaster, and handled said disasters by throwing tantrums and destroying expensive equipment. No, Hux would much rather internalize his emotions. It was the efficient and tidy solution. And he wouldn't ever look like a fool, not like Ren.  
  
Maybe another day.  
  
"I'm fine, Murrsan. Just spilled some tea."  
  
Hux could hear the face his temporary Director of Security made.  
  
"Don't call me Murrsan, for stars sake. It sounds so...clinical."  
  
"Director Murrsan? Is that better?"  
  
"Stop being an ass."  
  
For the first time that day, Hux was smirking, setting his kerchief aside, satisfied with his job cleaning himself up. He at least looked presentable.  
  
Flipping the the video feed on, an image flickered to life, Drakrya coming into focus. Despite his levity with Hux, he was standing tall and square shouldered, chin raised. As always, Drakrya was an intimidating presence, as he should be. Drakrya was a guard to Hux, after all. If he wasn't at least a little scary, what was the point?  
  
Now able to see Hux, the other man focused on him, the quiet whir of his cybernetic eye crackling over the comm. Yet another reason Drakrya was so damn terrifying. It was common for people to be fearful of cyborgs, to not trust them. What could be an alienating stereotype was, to Drakrya, another weapon he could use to protect Hux. If people feared him, they wouldn't mess with him, and by extension, Hux.  
  
"Is there a reason for the comm, Drakrya, or are you simply attempting to distract me from completing my work."  
  
"Lazari..."  
  
His voice had turned to one of warning, and Hux knew he shouldn't mess with Drakrya further. Folding his hands on his desk, he straightened himself up and squared his shoulders in turn. It was time for business.  
  
"What would you like to discuss?"  
  
"Thank you. Your new director of security is here. Shall I send her over?"  
  
And just like that, the tiny good mood that had begun to sprout within Hux was once more extinguished. Brilliant.  
  
"Drakrya, please tell me once more why you can't be director? You're more than qualified, and the rest of the Empyrean will pick up the slack. I hardly see how a new director-"  
" I've told you a million times, Lazari. I don't want to be director. I'd like to have a life outside my job. I'd like to be able to spend some time with my wife. If I were director, my life would revolve around you more than it already does. I care about you, Lazari, but stars above do I need a break from you every day."  
  
  
Hux huffed, and though he couldn't tell himself, Drakrya's smirk meant he was pouting like a child.  
  
"Well then, why not another Empyrean member? Myrmea? Dansal? I don't suppose you'd allow Alysanto, considering you just said you want to spend time with her-"  
  
The Empyrean. A team of five- well, now four- officers who were handpicked to be Hux's guard, assigned to him once he was declared General.  
  
Of course, the person doing the handpicking was none other than the former General Hux sr., Brendol. This meant that, as with everything else he did concerning Lazari, he was attempting to undermine his son and set him up for failure. The Empyrean were handpicked for being less than stellar officers. If not in skill, then in appearances and social standing. Drakrya was a perfect example. Strong, solid, smart and capable, he was the perfect guard, but being a cyborg, he has no future in the First Order. That meant he'd be perfect, in Brendol's eyes, to be assigned to Hux. Make the boy be associated with a cyborg. Humiliate him.  
  
Brendol's plan failed.  
  
The Empyrean had proven to be, despite their social impairments, exceptional at their jobs. Hux couldn't have picked a better team himself, not just because they were great guards, but because they seemed to understand him better than most anyone else. Drakrya, Myrmea, Dansal, Alysanto, and the late Trin, were some of Hux's closest friends. Brendol had definitely failed, and that just delighted Hux all the more.  
  
Except now, Trin was gone. Her life given in service to Hux, to save his own life. It was something that Hux grappled with. On the one hand, Trin knew what she was getting into. She could have chosen to transfer, which Hux would allow. She could have chosen not to be the head of the Empyrean, Director of Hux's security. Hux would allow that too. Trin had every opportunity to seek safety, but she didn't. She stayed, and she protected Hux, and she had died for it. And Hux, for all his coldness and distance, was sad.  
Trin had been a friend, just as anyone else in the Empyrean was. Trin and Hux were close, really. Many joked she was a clone of his, red haired and stern just as he was. Hux often pointed out that she had darker hair, more of a cherry than a ginger, but it fell on deaf ears. Truthfully, Hux corrected them because he didn't think of Trin as a clone. She was more of a sister.  
  
Hux had few friends, had no family (Brendol hardly counted), but Trin was someone he trusted, and even cared about, and she was gone. And it was his fault.  
His hands were shaking again.  
  
"Lazari?"  
  
Hux wasn't sure just how long he'd been silent. No more than a few seconds, surely. But it was enough to catch Drakrya's attention, and his expression had gone from playful to sympathetic. Hux hated it, not just because he didn't like people feeling sorry for him, but because he new Drakrya missed Trin too, was mourning too. The whole Empyrean was. Hux had no claim over sadness at this time. They shouldn't be feeling sorry for him when they were suffering too.  
  
"Ah- yes, sorry, got lost in thought. The new Director-"  
  
Again, he hesitated. A new director, a replacement for Trin. What if Hux didn't like her? What if she was bad at her job? What if they didn't get along?  
  
What if they did? And then she lost her life too, saving him. Why should he have to endure this process over and over. It seemed pointless. At least if one of his current guards stepped up, he wouldn't have to learn a new name. He wouldn't have to open himself to someone new. It was safer, it was more comfortable. It was what Hux wanted, more than anything right now.  
  
"Drakrya, are you sure-"  
  
He wasn't interrupted. Instead, the look on Drakrya's face made him take pause. He didn't look pitying, nor was he smirking. His face was soft, his one real eye filled with a warmth that Hux rarely noticed.  
  
"Give her a chance, Lazari. Just meet her, and we'll go from there."

  
Hux wished he could pinpoint the emotion Drakrya was conveying, but he couldn't. All he knew was the strife in his heart, the tightness in his chest, had calmed. He no longer felt in turmoil. He trusted Drakrya.  
  
"Fine, fine. Send her over. I suppose I have no choice."  
  
Drakrya nodded before the image flickered out, leaving Hux alone with his thoughts. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing, looking to his half empty tea. It was cool now, in need of heating.  
  
Oh well, he thought as he picked it up and took a steady sip, thankful that his hands had calmed enough to do so, cold tea isn't the worst thing in the world.  
Standing and rolling his shoulders, Hux rounded the desk, stationing himself in front of it. The hand not holding his cup was folded neatly behind him, and he squared his shoulders. He was going to make a good impression, despite his reluctance. Hux was a man of good impressions, especially firsts. It was a tool in his arsenal, a way to command power.  
  
He was still musing to himself over cold tea and first impression when the door chimed, signaling the arrival of his new Director. He opened his mouth to call out, but before he could make a sound, the door opened, and in she stepped.  
  
Hux didn't say a word. He couldn't. He was frozen in place. And so was she.  
  
The silence of the room was shattered only by the sound of Hux's cup, clattering to the ground.

**Author's Note:**

> My first time posting a fic to AO3! I hope I get this right, haha. Let me know if there's anything unclear about the ocs mentioned in this chapter, and I'll do my best to address things. Thanks for reading!


End file.
